


5 Times Peter Parker Visited His Therapist

by minigigi



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), BAMF Peter Parker, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Irondad Bingo 2019, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Beta Read, Not Spider-Man: Far From Home Compliant, Not Spider-Man: Far From Home Mid-Credits Scene Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Therapy, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-05 10:50:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20487686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minigigi/pseuds/minigigi
Summary: and 1 Time Tony Stark DidIronDad Bingo Square: Peter Wearing Tony's Sweatshirt---Peter finally opens up to Tony and May and gets professional help, but Peter is still a little nervous about seeing a therapist. Tony, in all his paternal wisdom, wraps him in one of his sweatshirts for every session -- any little bit to help Peter feel comfortable.[Fic Art Embedded]





	1. MIT Sweatshirt

Tony, with an iPad under one arm, walked into the kitchen to see his favorite Spiderling staring off into the distance.

Peter sat on the barstool at the kitchen island, just high enough that his gangly legs couldn’t reach the floor. His feet were absently kicking the air, emblematic of the kid always in motion. Although there was a half-filled bowl of colorful cereal placed in front of him, Peter merely swirled his spoon.

“Good morning, kid,” Tony softly said, trying not to startle the young teen.

Peter blinked, looked at Tony, before mumbling a quiet good morning, Mister Stark and taking a bite of soggy cereal.

Tony placed his tablet on the island before turning to the coffee machine to start brewing his morning coffee. He grabbed his favorite mug, a gray cup with “E = MC2” in big letters, with smaller letters saying “Energy = milk + coffee 2” underneath, a gift from Peter. As he placed his mug on the drip plate, he asked over his shoulder to the teen still sitting, “what’s on your mind, bud?”

Peter let out a soft sigh. “No, nothing at all, don’t worry, Mister Stark. Just a bit nervous – that’s all.”

Mug filled, Tony turned back to face Peter.

“it’s normal to be nervous, Pete. First day of therapy. We went over all your concerns this week, so you’re covered, secret identity and all.”

“Yeah, no, I get that, Mister Stark. Just nervous about what to expect, or what she expects out of me. What would be the protocol here? Do I list out my traumas in alphabetical order or chronological?” Peter ended in a snort.

“Alright, alright,” Tony said. He ruffled Peter’s hair before snapping back his hand. “-Ack! Why is your hair damp? Nervous sweating or you just washed your hair?”

Peter laughed.

“No, Mister Stark. See, I woke up super early, before my alarm even, and so when I got ready and tried to gel my hair, right?”

Tony nodded, sipping his coffee.

“—But, I guess I put too much since the gel made it look hard and stiff like I was worried that it would give the therapist the impression that I’m a perfectionist – which I’m not – so I washed out the gel and towel-dried it. But that made my hair look all fluffy and curly. I found some hair spray that promised to ‘tame curls,’ whatever that means, but it smelled weird, but I didn’t want to wash my hair again—”

In the middle of Peter’s monologue, Tony picked up the bowl of soggy cereal, dumped it out, and set it in the dishwasher.

“—Ned says therapists can psychoanalyze you simply by the way you walk into the room, and so when I walked out my bedroom, I wondered if maybe my walk says one thing, and my hair, which is kinda different than my usual, says another, and if that would give my therapist an inaccurate read on me, and what if that takes time away from my therapeutic healing.”

Tony walked over to the other side of the kitchen island and sat on the barstool next to Peter. After a slightly exasperated sigh, he turned to face Peter, placing both of his hands on the teen’s shoulders.

“Bud, bud, hey, you’ll have as many sessions as you need, hell, it’s already scheduled every Saturday until you say you want to stop. And Dr. Williams is the top SHIELD psychologist in the field; she isn’t going to diagnose you or whatever in the first minute of meeting you. She’s a professional; the best Stark Industries health insurance can buy.” Tony gave an encouraging smile.

Peter tried to return the smile, but the edge of his lip wobbled a bit. Unconvinced.

Tony dropped his head down to his chest, gave one dramatic sigh, before looking back to meet Peter’s eyes.

“Alright, I know a genius, billionaire, dedicated fiancé to powerful CEO, philanthropist can’t say much to dissuade you from being a bundle of nerves, so I’m going to take out the big guns.”

Tony got up and walked over a nearby closet, in the entryway of this penthouse, and pulled out an oversized sweatshirt decked out in cardinal red. Walking back, he theatrically shook the sweatshirt as if to shake out any dust although both he and Peter knew that Peter wore that sweatshirt just two nights ago and is unlikely to be already dusty.

Peter had already turned to face Tony as he walked back into the kitchen area, massive grin in place. “Do I get to keep it, Mister Stark?”

Tony’s only answer was shoving the sweatshirt over Peter’s head. The teenager laughed and moved to wear the sweatshirt properly.

Tony took a step back to allow Peter to shove his arms into the sleeves.

“No, but – every therapy session, you can wear it.”

Peter had his hands still tucked in the long sleeves so that he wore sweater paws.

“But what if Dr. Williams think it’s like, a security blanket or whatever if I wear it every time?”

Tony tilted his head a little as he tried to problem-solve this new source of anxiety for the teen quickly.

“Alright, bud, how about you can just swap it out with whatever sweatshirt I have in my closet, so you’ll have a new one every Saturday, and you can still be all safe and snug in your favorite stolen sweatshirt.”

Peter stood from his barstool and smoothed out the sweatshirt. He seemingly admired the silver-gray double-stitched lettering in the front. He looked back up to Tony and smiled.

“Alright, sounds good for now, but I don’t think you’ll have enough sweatshirts to last me forever, Mister Stark.” Peter gave a cheeky grin.

Tony snorted. “Kid, you’re talking to a billionaire, who helped put MIT at the forefront of tech research; with one phone call, I can get their entire inventory of sweatshirts here by tomorrow if I wanted to.”

“I dunno, Mister Stark,” Peter started, with a slight giggle in his voice, “it might not match my wardrobe if I go to Caltech instead.”

“You little shit,” Tony laughed. “I feel like my sweatshirts here are being under-appreciated, and I don’t know you deserve the sacred red and gray colors anymore.”

Peter dramatically stomped both his feet, “no, it’s mine forever,” hugging himself as if he was securing the sweatshirt.

Tony gave a big smile, reaching all the way to his eyes, where it scrunched up a bit.

“Alright, alright, kid.” Tony clapped one hand to Peter’s shoulder, before pulling him into a casual one-hand hug. “Happy should be waiting for us downstairs in the garage by now.” He led the teen down the hallway, to the entryway, and the elevator.

After Tony pressed the P1 button for the elevator, Peter threw both arms around Tony in a tight hug. “Thanks for everything, Mister Stark,” Peter mumbled into Tony’s shirt. Tony gently wrapped both his arms around the teen and rested his head on top of a nest of curls.

“You’re welcome, Pete.”

Tony pulled away just a bit, to kiss Peter’s forehead before tightening his hug once more.

“I’m always going to try to help you out, with whatever type of problems you have, and I’m so, so, so proud of you for asking May and me to help set you up with therapy.”

The elevator door opened to the parking garage, where the pair can see Happy standing outside a black Audi, the door already opened for them.

Tony clapped one hand on Peter’s back, “Come on, let’s go before my Forehead of Security decides to leave without us.”

Peter cackled, “you’re right, Mister Stark.” Peter waved one arm dramatically to the car, “age before beauty.”

Tony ruffled Peter’s hair before entering the car. “You’re a little gremlin today, aren’t you, kid.”

Peter only smiled before sitting in the seat next to Tony, allowing Happy to close the door behind them.

“I’m really glad you’re taking me to my appointments, Mister Stark.”

“And I’m really glad you trusted me enough to help you, kid.”

Peter rested his head on Tony’s shoulder. “Me too, Mister Stark.”

  
[](https://ibb.co/T11zf6y)


	2. Stark Industries Sweatshirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family Therapy Session

Peter had no idea what to expect when Dr. Williams called for a family session. He knew that one of the primary goals he worked on with Dr. Williams was to identify his support system and practice relying on them, so this wasn’t entirely out of left-field for them.

He had to really work on that one because it was such a difficult concept for him. Dr. Williams theorized that while Peter wasn’t afraid to communicate generally to his family, he had a harder time to let go some of his burdens on them, probably stemming from his superhero identity and drive to help others. 

So, that’s why Peter found himself sitting in the chilled waiting room for Dr. Williams’ office, with Tony to his right, and May to his left. 

Peter sat with his legs crossed, with his right knee bouncing slightly, in the middle of a rather spacious sofa. May leaned on his left shoulder as she read her latest book club assignment off her tablet, a memoir entitled Becoming. Tony leaned forward on his cushion and worked on his phone, where Peter can see him reviewing some PowerPoint file with figures and numbers. 

Peter checked the clock in the corner of the room and saw there were still three minutes until his noon appointment. He sighed and rested his head on May. May turned to nuzzle Peter on the side of the face and kissed him on his temple. “Honey, you know, I’m very proud of you letting us join you today for your appointment,” May murmured into his curls before going back to her book. 

The thing is, while Peter knew that whatever he told Dr. Williams falls under patient-doctor confidentiality, he still felt nervous, and borderline nauseous at having his first family session with, basically, his parents. 

It took a bit of time for Peter and Tony to build on their mentor-mentee relationship into the parental one they have now. After Peter opened up to Tony and told him that he needed help, it really cemented this new milestone of their relationship. 

Peter, naturally, told May first, about how shitty he felt, how little sleep he can get, the consistent nightmares, etc., etc., and May took all of this in stride. They had sat, with their legs crossed, on Peter’s bed, close to 2 a.m. on a weeknight, as May held a crying Peter after a particularly bad nightmare. In May’s maternal wisdom, she called off of work the next day, as well as excused Peter from school. A box of tissues later, May asked Peter if he was willing to ask Tony for help. 

Two months of attending his therapy sessions on his own, Dr. Williams thought a good approach to help Peter with his goal was to incorporate May and Tony, people Peter explicitly identified as his family, into a session.

Peter glanced at the clock again and saw he had a minute until his therapist invited them into her office. 

Peter sighed and properly sat up and planted both feet on the ground. On his left, May hummed and set aside her tablet and smoothed out her cardigan. On Peter’s right, Tony pocketed his phone and leaned back on the sofa. 

The clock hit noon, and right on cue, Dr. Williams opened her office door and welcomed them in. 

Usually, Dr. Williams’ office featured two plush armchairs divided by a long coffee table. However, today, the office held one large sofa, similar to the one in the waiting area, along with the original two armchairs. Each seating area occupied its own corner of the coffee table so that it made a rough triangle shape. 

Peter sat in the first armchair, closest to the door, and tucked his feet underneath him. He pulled up the collar of the black Stark Industries sweatshirt and then fumbled his hands into the long sleeves so that they were hidden from view. He clenched both fists for a second as he inhaled and unclenched with his exhale. 

May and Tony sat on the sofa, and Dr. Williams took her usual armchair. 

“Thank you, Tony and May, for joining us today,” Dr. Williams started. “What has Peter told you about today’s appointment?” 

May glanced at Tony, who only nodded his head, seemingly to give May the first chance to respond. “Well, Peter mentioned he wanted to get better at leaning on us and trusting us to help him with some his problems – and we’ve all been working on it, little by little, being more communicative and all that.” 

“That’s great. That’s why we’re here, a bit of a check-up and see if we can develop more specific goals and action plans.” Dr. Williams leaned back and pushed up her glasses to look at Peter. “Tell me about a time you initiated a conversation with either Tony or May asking for help since the last time we met.” 

“Um,” Peter began, as he pulled up the sleeves of the sweatshirt so that he could clasp his hands on his lap. “Thursday after school, I video-called Mister Stark to double-check a few lines of code for an assignment for the robotics club.” 

“That’s a great start, Peter. How about something related to Spider-Man?”

“Oh, uh…” Peter couldn’t remember if he did. He looked to Tony and May to see if they might’ve remembered something. May shook her head no, but with a small encouraging smile. 

Tony leaned forward, with his elbows on his knees, deep in thought before he snapped his finger and exclaimed, “Monday night when you let me check if you needed stitches on that one cut!”

“Mister Stark,” Peter laughed a little. “I didn’t ask for help that time, you told me to visit you before I ended my patrol that day so that you could check on it.” 

“Ah, yeah, I remember that now.” 

Dr. Williams pivoted a little to face Tony now. “Tony, how would you describe your monitoring Spider-Man activities?” 

“Well, I have text notifications every time the kid gets hurt, down to a papercut, if need be. If the alerts reach a certain threshold, say a serious injury, I have a nearby sentry Iron Man suit automatically rush over, just in case I’m too far away to really help him.” 

“I see. Tony, you’ve created a consistent and stable relationship with Peter, here, and I think there is enough trust and love that you can take a step back, maybe allow these small paper cuts and minor bruises to happen and give Peter space so that he can come to you and practice leaning on you.” 

“I see your point, Dr. Williams, however, I’d rather ensure Peter is physically safe during his superhero-ing hours just in case he gets an infection or if he passed out or –”

Dr. Williams held up a hand. “Tony, Peter trusts you with his life, and I’m sure you can also trust him to let you know. You can keep all the medical alerts, but also, let him handle some of his falls, and learn to go to you if he feels like he needs your help, physically or emotionally.” 

May gently pats Tony’s hand, before turning to Dr. Williams. “I would like to point out that Peter has come to me a few times, maybe not this week, but a few times, to ask for help to redress some of his bandages.” 

May pivots the top half of her body to face Peter now. “Sweetie, I know it hasn’t been easy, trusting people with Spider-Man, and trying to be an adult while also being responsible for your health. God knows how you did it all by yourself before Tony came along. But you talking to me after bad patrols, telling me about nightmares related to Spider-Man, asking me to help with your bandages, these are all step-ups from before, honey, and I’m so proud of you.” 

Peter felt himself tear up and blinked several times to avoid crying. “T-Thank you, Aunt May. I wouldn’t be able to do this without you—or Mister Stark.”

“Love you, sweetie,” May said, reaching out to hold Peter’s hands. 

Tony leaned forward to face the teen. “Kid, I can see that I’m a bit of a… hover-er when it comes to taking care of you. But, I’ll try to give you space, so that you can come to me with some of your Spider-Man stuff. Codes will be adjusted, and boundaries will be established, and all that.” 

“I’d appreciate that, Mister Stark.” He looked down at his lap, fingers fidgeting in his sleeves. Peter paused, debating on whether to continue. “Mister Stark, sometimes it felt like, with all your protocols and monitoring, that I couldn’t be trusted or that I wasn’t responsible enough, and I know that isn’t true and you care and are a bit of a helicopter-parent, so I know you meant well, but I appreciate you wanting to take those steps with me.” 

Peter looked up to see Tony looking back at him, with his head tilted slightly.

“Kid, I’m so sorry I made you feel that way. I’ll try to be better and, whatever you need from me, don’t be afraid to ask, alright.” 

Peter nodded. 

Dr. Williams smiled at the three of them. “This is a great point to turn our discussion on some of the coping strategies Peter and I have been working on, particularly when it comes to anxiety---” 

Peter relaxed his shoulders, easing out some of the stress he hadn’t realized he held and moved his legs out from under him to cross them as he did in the waiting room before. He felt loved by his family and cared for. That he won’t be alone in his struggles. That he’s safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr @ minigigi. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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